Frozen In My Shielded Skin
by ReesesPieces2112
Summary: Following 3x07. Say the exorcism had worked. Say the Gecko brothers and Scott Fuller got their Kate back. Summary sucks, I know, I apologize. Major props to anyone who can guess the song I'm quoting for the title.
1. Is This Love?

**So...I love From Dusk Till Dawn the series. I love Seth and Kate. I love that Seth is trying so damn hard to get her back.**

 **I don't know if I'm going to make these a series of one shots or if I'm going to continue from this. Throw me some ideas, let me know.**

 **Much Love,**

 **ReesesPieces2112**

* * *

All she seemed to do lately was sleep. Drifting in and out of consciousness with no knowledge of the three men standing guard outside of her room. Though it was to be understood why she slept so much, Seth Gecko often found himself selfishly wishing Kate Fuller would stay awake long enough for them to talk.

The truth was that Kate could only get three to four hours of sleep…if she was lucky. Amaru haunted her every moment, her every memory, her every thought and action. Kate would wrap the blankets tightly around her body and curl herself into a ball, listening to the Gecko brothers and Scott shuffle in front of her door. They hadn't left her side since casting Amaru out of her body; a task that caused unbearable pain and she swore she could still hear her body being pulled in every different direction.

Her bones crunching lingered in Seth's ears. Her piercing screams kept him up at night. Her cry for him, her pleading for him to stop had Seth seething and pissed off that it had to go as far as it had because of Amaru. Because of that Xiabalban bitch, he had to torture Kate physically for the second time.

Richie hadn't left Kate's room since they had gotten her back. He sat in a chair next to her door while his brother leaned his body against it, tense and afraid, even if he wouldn't admit it. The brothers and Scott all feared Amaru would return for Kate; though she was the one who cast Amaru out, Kate was a strong contender for Amaru to inhabit.

Scott would curl himself next to his sister's door. After ridding her of Amaru, she hadn't quite looked at him the same since the night she died eight months prior. He remembered the night he thought he was hallucinating after his concert, the way she threw her arms around him and held him close. He had been so overwhelmed by her appearance that he couldn't comprehend her warning to stay away. He tried everything after that, even going so far as to team up with the two idiots who had gotten them into this mess in the first place.

A shrill cry echoed into the hallway and Seth practically tore down Kate's door to get to her.

"Kate!" He called and rushed to her; she'd been thrashing around and swinging her arms about, nearly slapping his face. "Kate, wake up!"

Richie followed right behind, grabbing Scott as soon as he realized Kate was having a nightmare and Seth had it under control.

"Katie, look, look," Seth grabbed onto her arms gently, stirring her from her dream and pushing the hair from her face. She opened her eyes, trembling and tears pouring down her face. He cupped her face and used his thumbs to wipe them away, "Look, princess, it's me. Just me."

"Seth," Kate gasped and choked back more tears, "she was here. She was here, Seth, Amaru was here. Sh-She was-."

"Shh, Shh. It's okay," He soothed her, whispering and pushing more of her hair back, "It's okay. We're here now. We've got you. I've got you."

Kate allowed him to pull her close and cradle her; the first real interaction between them without Amaru lurking underneath, without Amaru trying to claw her way back to the surface. Still, her body shook and she felt sick. Breaking away from him, she scrambled to the edge of her bed, hunched over, and vomited.

"Fuck." Seth reached for her again, lifting her from the bed and walking to his room, where he sat her in the middle of his own mattress. Rummaging through his dresser, he pulled out an old t-shirt before helping her to the bathroom.

"Seth, I-I don't…" She hesitated and finally glanced down to find that she hadn't done a very good job of trying not to puke all over herself.

"Come on, princess." He sighed and stepped closer, reaching around to turn the shower on. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"I can do it." Kate pushed his hands away and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Can you…wait outside?"

Seth let his eyes wander down to her arms, the ones that were scarred from Amaru putting her life and body at risk. His hands clenched so tight they started to shake.

"Seth, please?" She whispered; she was nowhere near ashamed to be around him half naked, she had been wearing a bikini when she met Richie. It was the scars that remained from the Geckos and Ranger Gonzalez defending themselves against Amaru. Winding her arms tighter, she kept her focus to the floor, tears threatening her eyes once more.

"Fuck that." Seth growled and advanced on her, dropping the spare clothes to the floor and backing her into the shower.

Kate gasped when she felt the wall of the shower against her back, the warm water pouring down on them. Before she had the chance to yell at him, he had tangled his fingers into her hair and crushed their lips together.

He felt her push at his chest with her nails biting into his skin, but he was stronger than her, more stubborn, more determined. He had missed her. He missed her voice, her smile, her eyes, but most of all he missed the way she had faith in him. He missed the way she so confident that he was a good person underneath the tough exterior.

At some point, she had stopped resisting and choosing instead to tug at his short hair and cling to him, not that he minded. Kate had just spent eight months trapped inside herself, trying so hard to break free from Amaru. She was afraid every day that Amaru grew stronger and could manipulate that part of Kate that was left. Amaru dug deep into her mind and pulled every memory she held dear to use against Scott, Richie, and Seth.

Slowing his movements, Seth found enough restraint to pull back from her, resting his forehead against hers.

"Why?" Kate whimpered against his mouth. "Why did you do that?"

"I'm sorry, princess. I'm so sorry. For everything."

"I can't, Seth. I can't forgive you." She moved away from him, putting distance between them and standing on the other side of the shower. "Everything you've done, that we've all done, is unforgivable. I wish…I wish you would have killed me when I asked. Amaru is dangerous. You could have stopped her."

"I was not going to risk losing you, Kate." Seth stood firm, squaring his shoulders. "You were still in there. You were still you. And you're damn right I didn't kill Amaru if it meant getting you back. If we had to do it all over again, I'd make the same fucking choice."

Kate frowned at him and tilted her head sideways. She wanted to say more, but she wasn't sure how she could follow what he'd just stated.

He shook his head and cursed himself for letting his temper get the best of him; the first time in a week that she'd actually spoken to him and he'd turned it into an argument. Pulling back the curtain, he stepped out of the shower, "I'll be here if you need me, princess."

She watched him walk away, leaving her to wash up. She knew she took longer than necessary, scrubbing at her body so harsh in hopes of erasing all the damage done by Amaru and Brasa. She spent the better part of twenty minutes leaning against the wall and crying into her hands once she realized she would never truly be free of Amaru.

By the time Kate had stepped out of the bathroom in his boxers and his t-shirt, Seth had already changed and sat patiently on his bed. "You're going to sleep here."

"But, my bed-."

"Smells like puke." He informed her as she laid down and pulled the blankets up to her chest. "We'll be right outside, okay?"

"Wait!" She grabbed his hand to stop him from leaving. "Can you stay, Seth? Please?"

There was no hesitation in him as he settled next to her, taking in her features and noting the dark circles under her eyes. He traced them gently as sleep overcame her and he traced a pattern to the back of her neck where he massaged gently until he also gave in to exhaustion.


	2. It Hurts

**Mmmmm. I don't know about this one. Throw some more suggestions at me, guys.**

 **Much love,**

 **ReesesPieces2112 (:**

* * *

 _She stood not three feet from him, but she held a blade to his throat. "You think you can save her?"_

 _"I think she can save herself."_

 _"She doesn't want to be saved." Twisting the sword against his throat, she nicked him. "She likes being powerful. No man, woman, or child could step on her. Certainly no Gecko can even come close to her anymore. I'm simply inhabiting her body. The hate she has for you is what makes me strong."_

 _"Fuck you." He spat just before she lunged forward, thrusting the steel clear through his neck._

Kate gasped and sprung up from the bed, sweating, panting, and crying. Throwing the sheets off her body and swinging her legs over the edge, she stood and began pacing the room.

"Kate?" Seth called to her softly, sitting up from his spot beside her. "Hey, princess, what happened?"

"I killed you." She explained through shaky breaths. "I ran a sword through your throat. I felt your blood on my hands."

"Come here." He beckoned her, pulling her tight against him as soon as she was close enough. "Relax, Kate, I've got you. I'm here."

"It hurts. So much." Kate buried her tear stained face in his shirt. "Every part of me knows she's not here and yet there's little parts that scream for her. Why?"

"Because she possessed you." Seth ran his hands through her hair. "She took over your body and mind, Kate. She made you do things and then convinced you that it was something you truly wanted, you were just holding back. None of that was you."

"I felt everything. Every soul, every bit of flesh she ripped apart, and I just…I couldn't stop her."

"I know. But you tried, princess, and accomplished way more than any normal human could have. You fought and you showed her that you weren't weak."

"She could come back." Kate whispered, pulling back from his embrace. "She could come for me _because_ I fought. I was her strongest vessel and she knows it. She will come back, Seth, and when-."

"If," Seth grit his teeth and cupped her face, "if she comes back, we will do what we've always done. We'll fight."

"Stop it." She pushed his hands away and wiped the tears pouring down her face. "You have to promise me, Seth, that when she comes for me that you will kill me."

"No!"

"Listen to me!" Kate sobbed, clutching onto his hands. "It's not safe. She'll kill you, and Richie, and Scott. She won't stop this time. You can't make that same decision you made the first time. If stopping her means killing me, then please, I beg you, do it."

"I can't, Kate." Seth growled, getting out of bed and creating some distance because he couldn't handle or even fathom what she was asking him to do. "There's another way, there's always another way. I lost you once and I for damn sure am not gonna lose you again."

"That's not your call to make." Kate stood as well, letting Seth's bed separate them. "If you won't do it, I'll ask Richie. I'll ask Scott. I'll even Santanico. Because my life is not more important than the rest of the world." She turned and made her way to his bedroom door. With her hand on the knob, she said, "I'm sorry, Seth, but this is one of those times you don't get to be selfish."

Seth held his breath and waited for the door to close behind her before letting out a mountain of profanities; Kate was right. As if she was ever wrong. He couldn't risk the lives of billions of people, including his brother, for her.

But she wasn't just any girl; she was Kate. She was light, his hope, his reason for wanting something better than robbing banks and running for the rest of his life.

* * *

"You two not talking?" Richard asked the pair the next morning as they sat around a table for breakfast.

"Apparently not." Kate picked at her plate of food, her appetite hadn't been the same since she, you know, died.

Seth snorted from his spot across the table. "Why don't you ask Little Red here what we argued about last night?"

Richard opened his mouth to direct that exact question at Kate, when she slammed her fork onto the table with a loud thump.

"I asked you to do the right thing."

"You asked me to put a bullet in your skull."

"You what?!" Scott stared at his sister in disbelief.

"Not directly!" She shot back at Seth. "I said if Amaru came back, there is no hesitation this time. You have to kill me."

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm tired of trying to do the right thing, Kate." Seth scoffed at her. "It doesn't how much good we try to do, it always backfires on us. The Gecko brothers just weren't meant to do good."

"Then why did you try saving me in the first place? Why were you so desperate to bring me back? Why did you kiss me?"

Richard threw his hands up and immediately excused himself from the table, dragging Scott along with him. "C'mon, kid, adults are talking."

"No, hey, wait!" Scott struggled against the younger Gecko brother but he was no match.

"Because you were still there!" Seth kicked back his chair, slamming his hands on the wooden table and standing. "You were still in there, Kate, and I wasn't going to let that Xiabalban bitch work her way in to you! You think I didn't have every intention of shooting you that night in the junk yard?! You think I wasn't the one trying to convince Richie and Scott that you were gone?! Jesus fucking Christ, Kate, up until you showed me that you were still alive…I was the only one ready to kill you."

Kate watched him, studied him as his breathing became ragged, his muscles tightened, his jaw clenched, and his eyes bloodshot.

"Do you know how that felt? How knowing that I had to be the one to put you down because I knew Scott and Richie would never bring themselves to do it? Do you know what it was like, Kate, seeing you that night and realizing that…Richie and I caused all of it? We're to blame for what happened to you. You should have had a normal life and we took that chance from you."

Seth let out a pained laugh and shook his head. "This was our mess, and instead of cleaning it up, we got your brother turned into one of those…things. Your dad died, you got shot and _you_ died. Fuckin' A, Kate…all because I saw some beautiful girl behind the wheel of an RV."

"You know I never blamed you for any of that."

"Yes you do, princess. You should."

"You made Scott stronger." Kate got up from her seat and slowly walked up to him. "Scott never felt like he belonged until he was a culebra. My father was never going to tell us the truth about our mother until you two came along. I was never going to be stronger than I am now without you and Richie. Seth," she reached up and cupped his face, "you were never the 'person who ruined my life'. Because you didn't. There's a reason for everything. You were my reason to keep fighting Amaru. You and Scott."

"Kate, I'm hurt." Richie's voice startled them and Kate jumped away from Seth.

"The hell, Richie?" Seth snarled at his brother.

"Kid wants to make a run into town." Richie dangled the keys to their car in his hand. "Need anything?"

"Um, I'll come with." Kate suggested, surprising the brothers as it was the first time she wanted to do something other than stay cooped up in her room.

"We'll all go." Seth grabbed the keys from Richie and stalked out to the car.

"After you, Katie-Cakes." Richie let her pass him with a smile and she, amazingly, gave him a genuine smile in return.


End file.
